Ladder supported container holder



July 29, 1969 c. o. CROW 3,

LADDER SUPPORTED CONTAINER HOLDER Filed Sept. 28, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I //vmvr0z (u/F000 6600/1 July 29, 1969 c. o. CROW LADDER SUPPORTED CONTAINER HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 28, 1967 Unitetl States Patent Office Patented July 29, 1969 3,458,165 LADDER SUPPORTED CONTAINER HOLDER Clifford O. Crow, 112 W. Oak St., Arcadia, Fla. 33821 Filed Sept. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 671,431 Int. Cl. B44d 3/14 US. Cl. 248-210 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A ladder supported container holder comprising a support ring sized to encompass a pail above its center of gravity, an upwardly extending support element rigidly connected to the support ring and including a handle portion bent over the pail support ring, a hook member connected to the upper end of the handle portion for supporting brushes or the like above the pail positioned in the support ring, and a V-shaped bracket having legs longer than the width of the side rails of the ladder pivotally connected at the end of one of its legs to the sup port element below its handle portion, whereby the V- shaped support bracket is inserted about the side rail of the ladder from the front edge of the side rail, with its free leg resting on a rung of the ladder, and both of its legs extending beyond the rear edge of the side rail of the ladder so that the rung of the ladder acts as a fulcrum and supports the container holder and its pail.

Background of the invention When painting an elevated object or surface, a painter usually carries his bucket of paint with him when he climbs his ladder, and keeps his paint available as he paints so that his brush can be conveniently immersed in the paint. Instead of holding the paint bucket in his hand, most painters attempt to rest the bucket on a platform, such as the foldable platform of a step ladder, so as to retain the use of his hand. Of course, in many instances a convenient platform is not available to the painter, as when the painter is using an extension ladder or circular rung ladder. Also, even if a platform is available for the bucket, the painter needs a place to rest his brush from time to time as he changes positions or makes other adjustments.

While various devices have been developed from time to time which support or suspend paint buckets from ladders, no simplified structure has been developed which will support a paint bucket from all types of ladders, which is easil connected to and disconnected from a ladder and movable to a new position on the ladder, which is virtually tilt proof, and which conveniently holds the painters brush.

Summary of the invention This invention comprises a ladder supported container holder of a type utilized to support a paint bucket from a ladder without danger of tilting or overturning the bucket while attached to the ladder or when being repositioned to a new location on the ladder, and includes a circular support ring adapted to encompass the paint bucket above its center of gravity, and upwardly extending support member rigidly connected to the support ring, and a V-shaped support bracket pivotally connected at the end of one of its legs to the support member. The V-shaped support bracket is adapted to be fitted about the upwardly extending side rail of the ladder, with one of its legs extending over the rung of the ladder, whereupon the rung of the ladder acts as a fulcrum to hold the support bracket rigidly connected to the ladder.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a ladder supported container holder which can be connected to ladders of various construction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ladder supported container holder which supports a container of paint above its center of gravity from a side rail and a rung of a ladder.

Another object of this invention is to provide a holder for connecting a bucket of paint to a ladder in such a manner that the bucket of paint and the holder can be removed from and reconnected to the ladder with one hand and with a minimum of attention from the painter.

Another object of this invention is to provide a holder which can be rigidly connected to a bucket of paint and suspend the bucket of paint in an upright position from the side rail of a ladder, and the bucket of paint and its holder can be conveniently repositioned on the ladder or placed upon the floor or ground surface without danget of the holder being disconnected from the paint bucket, or the paint being spilled from the paint bucket, and a paint brush can be suspended above the bucket of paint when the holder is in any of its upright positions.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from reading the following specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ladder supported container holder, showing the manner in which the holder is connected to a pail and a ladder;

FIG. 2 is a partial rear elevational view of a step ladder, showing the manner in which the V-shaped support bracket is connected to the side rail and rung of the ladder;

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of a step ladder, showing the manner in which the support bracket is connected to the side rail and rung of the ladder;

FIG. 4 is a partial elevational view of an extension ladder, showing the manner in which the support bracket is connected to the side rail and rung of the ladder.

Description of the embodiment Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows a ladder 10-having a side rail 11 and step or rung 12. While only a portion of ladder 10 is shown, it should be understood that the portion shown represents an upstanding step ladder of conventional construction. Container holder 14 is connected to ladder 10 and comprises a circular support ring 15, upwardly extending support member 16, and V-shaped support bracket 18. Support ring 15 and upwardly extending support mernber 16 are fabricated from a single metal strap 19. Support ring 15 terminates at one end in car 20 and is joined to upwardly extending support member 16 by ear 21. Bars 20 and 21 are apertured (not shown) to accommodate bolt 22. Strap 19 extends from ear 21 through a twisted and upwardly bent portion 24 to form upwardly extending support member 16. The upper portion of upwardly extending support member 16 is bent over support ring 15 to form handle portion 25. The upper end of handle portion 25 is apertured and hook or brush holder 26 is inserted through the aperture and bent around the upper extremity of handle portion 25, in such a manner as to be rigidly connected to upwardly extending support member 16. Thus, support ring 15, upwardly extending support member 16 and its handle portion 25, and brush holder 26 are of integral rigid construction.

V-shaped support bracket 18 comprises free leg 28 and leg 29 which is connected at its end remote from apex 30 to upwardly extending support member 16. Pin 31 extends through mated apertures (not shown) of leg 29 of V-shaped support bracket 18 and upwardly extending support member 16, in such a manner that its head and cotter pin 32 pivotally connect V-shaped support bracket 18 to upwardly extending support member 16. Washers are positioned about pin 31, as necessary, to assure free pivotal movement between these elements.

U-shaped clip 34 is rigidly connected to upwardly extending support member 16 at a point immediately below V-shaped support bracket 18 by means of connecting brad 35. The ears of U-shaped clip 34 extend beyond the opposite surface of upwardly extending support member 16 so as to present a stop for V-shaped support bracket 18, and limit the pivotal movement of V-shaped support bracket 18 with respect to upwardly extending support member 16.

Pail latch 36 is connected to support ring by means of bolt 22. Pail latch 36 is fabricated from a heavy gauge wire and comprises loop 38, downwardly extending hook 39, and laterally extending brush scraper bar 40. Hook 39 is connected to the upper end of loop 38 and scraper bar 40 terminates in a downwardly turned tab 41 which normally hooks over the edge of pail 42. Loop 38 is connected to bolt 22 by inserting loop 38 over the shank of the bolt with washers disposed on each side of loop 38, and with wing nut 44 biasing together ears 20 and 21 of support ring 15 and loop 38. Loop 38 is vertically adjustable about bolt 22 to accommodate different sized pails held by support ring 15.

V-shaped support bracket 18 is formed so that its legs 28 and 29 diverge from apex 30 at an angle of approximately 25 degrees. Thus, the ends of legs 28 and 29 remote from apex 30 are disposed further apart than the ends closer to apex 30. Legs 28 and 29 are constructed of a length substantially longer than the width of the normal side rails of step ladders, circular rung ladders or extension ladders, and when V-shaped support bracket 18 is positioned about a side rail of a ladder, apex 30 will be positioned adjacent the front edge of the side rail while its legs will project on each side of the side rail to a point beyond the rear edge of the side rail. Thus, when V-shaped support bracket 18 is attached to a ladder in its normal position, upwardly extending support member 16 will be supported by V-shaped support bracket 18 at the rear edge of the side rail of the ladder while apex 30 of the V-shaped support bracket 18 will be positioned adjacent the front edge of the side rail. Therefore, free leg 28 will contact the upper surface of a ladder rung, and from the weight of its pail will tend to pivot about the ladder rung until apex 30 engages the front edge of the side rail of the ladder.

As is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the diverging legs of V-shaped support bracket 18 create a loose fit with the side rail and rung of the ladder. When positioned on the ladder, V-shaped support bracket 18 is slid about side rail 11 until its apex 30 or the portions of legs 28 and 29 adjacent apex 30 are positioned closely adjacent the front edge of side rail 11. V-shaped support bracket 18 is then allowed to slide down side rail 11 until its free leg 28 engages rung 12. As V-shaped support bracket 18 continues to move down side rail 11, free leg 28 slightly pivots about rung 12 until apex 30 engages the front edge of side rail 11. Also, the further downward movement of V-shaped support bracket 18 causes it to tilt slightly, so that leg 29 is disposed slightly lower than free leg 28. The degree at which leg 29 will tilt or droop below free leg 28 depends upon the thickness of side rail 11 and the angle between legs 28 and 29 of V-shaped support bracket 18; however, the slight amount of droop encountered does not affect the function of the holder, and support ring 15 supports the pail so that it tilts toward upwardly extending support member 16, and the holder is fabricated with the expectation that it will be mounted on the ladder in this manner.

As is best shown in FIG. 3, when V-shaped bracket 18 is mounted about side rail 11, apex 30 of bracket 18 engages the edge of side 11 with the upper edge of free leg 28 and with the lower edge of leg 29. As is indicated by broken lines 45 and 46, the slope of the front edge of side rail 11 causes those points of engagement to be laterally displaced, so that the point of engagement 48 of free leg 28 is displaced toward the rear edge of the ladder side rail with respect to the point of engagement 49. This lateral displacement of the points of engagement causes the holder to end to pivot substantially in a laterally extending plane until leg 29 engages the flat side of side rail 11 and the bucket is positioned closely adjacent the side rail.

When pail 42 is initially inserted in support ring 15, ring nut 44 is loosened and pail latch 36 is pivoted to move hook 39 and brush scraper bar 40 out of the way. After pail 42 has been received in support ring 15, pail latch 36 is adjusted so that hook 39 extends over the upper edge of pail 42, brush bar 40 extends across a cord of the pail, and downwardly turned tab 41 projects back over the edge of the pail. Loop 38 may be vertically adjusted about bolt 22, as necessary, and wing nut 44 tightened so that pail 42 is rigidly held in support ring 15 by pail latch 36. With this arrangement, container holder 14 will remain connected to pail 42 even when pail 42 is placed upon the floor or ground surface.

When a painter carries pail 42 and container holder 14, he normally grips the assembly by handle portion 25 of upwardly extending support member 16. Since handle 25 extends over pail 42, it is located generally above the center of gravity of the pail, so that the lifting of the assembly in this manner will not cause pail 42 to tilt. When the assembly is removed from a ladder, U-shaped clip 34 will limit the pivotal movement of V-shaped support bracket 18 with respect to upwardly extending support member 16 so that V-shaped support bracket 18 will not pivot to an awkward position, but will remain in an attitude where it is ready to be inserted about side rail 11 of ladder 10. Since U-shaped clip 34 permits V-shaped support bracket 18 to pivot through approximately degrees, container holder 14 can be connected to the opposite side rail 11 of ladder 10 by merely pivoting V-shaped support bracket 18 about upwardly extending support member 16 until it comes to rest against the opposite leg of U-shaped clip 34. In this manner, V-shaped support bracket 18 will always be ready for immediate connection to the side rail of a ladder, and can be pivoted with a minimum of attention and effort so as to be connected to the opposite side rail of a ladder.

Since virtually all paint brushes are manufactured with holes in the end of their handles, the brushes can be suspended in an upstanding position by inserting the hole of the handle about a supporting hook, nail, etc. Brush holder 26 is positioned so that when brush 50 has its hole 51 inserted thereover, brush 50 will normally swing down so that the bristles 52 of the brush extend into pail 42. In this manner, if the painter is carrying the assembly by handle portion 25 and vigorously swings the assembly, the brush 50 supported by brush holder 26 will not pivot wildly about the assembly and splatter paint about, since bristles 52 of the brush 50 will engage the sides of pail 42 and limit the pivotal movement of brush 50 to the area within pail 42.

When the assembly is properly mounted on a ladder, the painter can scrape the bristles of his brush against scraper bar 40 to remove the excess paint which might have accumulated on the brush. Since scraper bar 40 extends over pail 42, the paint will fall from scraper bar 40 into pail 42.

V-shaped support bracket 18 is fabricated of a relatively thin metal strap and free leg 28 presents a substantially narrow profile. As is shown in FIG. 4, free leg 28 is thin enough so that it easily projects between the side rails of the sections of an extension ladder. Furthermore, while the container holder 14 has been illustrated primarily in association with a step ladder, it should be apparent that the construction is such that it can be used with a circular rung ladder, or ladders having rungs of other configurations since the rung merely provides the fulcrum for V-shaped support bracket 18.

While pail 42 has been illustrated as a conventional painters pail, it should be understood that container holder 14 can be utilized with containers of other configurations. Furthermore, while support ring 15 has been illustrated as a solid piece, it may be constructed so that it is adjustable to accommodate pails varying in diameter.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for supporting a pail from the side rail and rung of an upstanding ladder comprising: a circular pail support ring sized to encompass a pail above its center of gravity, an upwardly extending support element rigidly connected to said support ring and including a handle portion bent over the pail support ring, a hook member connected to the upper end of said handle portion for supporting brushes or the like above the pail support ring, a V-shaped bracket having legs longer than the width of the side rails of a ladder pivotally connected at the end of one of its legs to said support element below said handle portion, a limiting member connected to said support element for restricting the pivotal movement of said V-shaped bracket with respect to said support element, a retaining member connected to said pail support ring for holding a pail within the confines of the pail support ring, and a brush scraper adapted to extend over a pail within the confines of the pail support ring.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said V-shaped bracket is pivotally connected to said support element at the extending end of one of its legs opposite the apex of said bracket.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said retaining member is vertically adjustable with respect to said support ring.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said support elment includes an upright portion to which said leg of said V-shaped bracket is pivotally connected and wherein said limiting member is located on said upright portion immediately below said V-shaped bracket for restricting the pivotal movement of said bracket with respect to said support element.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,200,936 10/1916 Hall 248-210 1,471,712 10/1923 Sohnle 248- X 1,833,690 11/1931 Penners 248-315 X 2,355,549 8/1944 Myers.

2,367,256 1/ 1945 Atkins 248-210 2,735,641 2/1956 Joecks 248-210 3,227,411 1/1966 Treutler 248-210 3,332,653 7/1967 Hoelzel 248-210 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner J. FRANKLIN FOSS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 211-71; 248-311 

